Metal drum stick

ABSTRACT

The drum stick is comprised of a hollow, cylindrical, metal tube, open at both ends and provided with a straight, cylindrical tip end portion of reduced diameter. A plastic tip is secured to the butt end of the drum stick. A plastic coating or sleeve may be disposed along the cylindrical portion of the drum stick having the larger diameter. Variations in the sound characteristics can be achieved by varying the length of the reduced diameter, cylindrical tip portion. A solid core may be provided in the larger diameter cylindrical portion of the tube.

United States Patent 1191 Cordes 51 Mar. 27, 1973 METAL DRUM STICK 3,422,719 H1969 Payson ..s4/422 V 3,165,964 l/1965 Stys et al. [76] Inventor: Charles P. Cordes, 27 Kenneth 3 301 9 l 1967 Gil 4 4 Place, Clark NJ. 07066 bert ..8 22 22 Filed; July 2 70 Primary Examiner-Richard B. Wilkinson 4 Assistant Examiner-Lawrence R. Franklin [21] Appl' 67,674 I Attorney-Richard C. Sughrue et a].

Related us. Application 11m 57] ABSTRACT [63] ":Sigggg of sen Apnl The drum stick is comprised of a. hollow, cylindrical,

metal tube, open at both ends and provided with a v v straight, cylindrical tip end portion of reduced diame- [52] US. Cl "84/4228 ten A plastic p is secured to the butt end of the drum [51] Int. Cl. ..Gl0d 13/00 1 4 [58] Fi d 0 Search 84/422 stick. A plastic coating or sleeve may be disposed e g cv along the portion of the drum stick having 56 R f C the larger diameter. Variations in the sound charac- 1 m teristics can be achieved by varying the length of the UNITED STATES reduced diameter, cylindrical tip portion. A solid core 4 J may be prov1ded 1n the larger diameter cylindrical 3,146,659 9/1964 Robba et a1. ..s4/422 portion f the m 3 2,521,336 9/1950 Brarnson .....84/422 3,175,450 3/ 1965 Crischolo ..84/422 7 Claims, 4 Drawing l0 I2 14' 1e 20 1 F T/31 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

PATENTEUmzmn CHARLES P CORDES METAL DRUM s'rrcx This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 812,747, filed Apr. 2, 1969, and now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is directed to musical accessories and more particularly, drum and cymbal beaters.

2. Description of the Prior Art The conventional wooden drum stick which has been used by drummers for years and is still in common usage is comprised of a one-piece wooden stick having a main cylindrical body portion and a forward end portion which is gradually tapered down to a reduced diameter neck portion before terminating in an enlarged tip. Although wooden sticks are mass produced according to the exact identical dimensional characteristics, it is very difficult to match a pair of drum sticks with respect to sound characteristics due to inconsistencies found in the wood fibers. Another drawback of the conventional wood drum stick is that the wood drum stick easily splinters and breaks. This is especially true when the drum stick is used in the popular rim-shot manner wherein the drummer simultaneously strikes the drum head with the tip and the rim with the body of the stick.

In an effort to add to the life of a conventional wooden drum stick, it has been proposed to coat the entire conventional wooden drum stick with a plastic covering. Although this reduces splintering of the wooden drum stick it fails to solve the problem of breakage, especially at the narrow neck portion, or the problem of producing a plurality of drum sticks having uniform. sound characteristics.

It has also been proposed in the past to construct a solid one-piece drum stick of conventional configuration completely from metal and provide the drum stick with a plastic coating over the surface thereof. However, such solid metallic drum sticks are generally too heavy for general playing even when using a very light metal such as magnesium.

A further development in the art of non-wooden drum sticks provided a hollow metallic body for the drum stick with a solid plastic tip closing one end of the hollow metallic body portion. The solid plastic tip is provided with the conventional taper and enlarged head on the end thereof. Drum sticks of this nature, however, have not proven very satisfactory from a sound point of view since the plastic end portion is too pliable, giving a mushy feel to the drum stick. Furthermore, the hollow metallic tube forming the main body portion of the drum stick had a tendency to dent on contact with the metal hoop of the drum and due to the fact that the drum stick was constructed of two pieces it was not uncommon to have the drum stick separate at the joint between the plastic tip and the hollow metallic body portion.

A further development in the prior art involved the production of a one-piece hollow metallic stick of conventional shape but due to the fact that metal is more rigid than wood, such a stick was found to be too rigid and did not provide the desired flex on the end of the drum stick.

In summary, although the use of metal and plastic materials as substitutes for wood in the construction of with wooden drum sticks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The drum stick, according to the present invention, is comprised of a one-piece metal tubular core having a main cylindrical body portion and a reduced diameter cylindrical stern portion joined by a short tapered portion. A plastic tip is secured to the end of the reduced diameter stem portion and is open at the end to communicate with the hollow interior of the drum stick. A similar plastic cap may be provided on the butt end of the main body portion. The thickness of the wall of the tubular core is substantially constant throughout the entire length of the drum stick to provide the desired sound characteristics. The length of the reduced diameter stem portion may be varied to produce differentsound characteristics and the stem portion is not provided with a plastic coating, as is the main body portion of the drum stick, to give a greater resilience to the stem portion and to provide a bare metal surface for the purpose of achieving certain sound effects. The plastic coating may be eliminated and a wooden core may be placed inside the main-body portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the drum stick according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section view of the righthand end of the drumstick as viewed in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section view of the lefthand end .of the drum stick as viewed in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of the main body portion in modified form.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The drum stick 10 is provided with a main cylindrical body portion 12, a quickly tapering intermediate portion 14 and a reduced diameter cylindrical stem portion 16. The three portions 12, 14 and 16 are all constructed from a one-piece, hollow metallic tube 18 and the reduced diameter cylindrical stem portion 16 may be formed by a swaging operation and subsequently drilled to remove the excess metal and provide a hollow metallic drum stick having a wall thickness substantially constant throughout the entire length of the drum stick. The intermediate portion 14 is formed with a relatively quick taper and the variation in wall thickness in the intermediate portion is negligible.

A plastic bead or tip 20 is secured on the end of the stem 16 by any suitable means such as adhesive or the like and an opening 22 may be formed in the end of the tip 20 in communication with the hollow interior of the stem 16. A plastic cap 24 may be secured to the butt end of the main body portion 12 and the end of the cap is preferably left open to provide communication to the interior of the hollow metallic drum stick. Both the tip portion 20 and the cap 24 extend beyond the end of the hollow metallic drum stick to prevent the metal drum stick from coming in contact with the surface which is being struck by the drum stick. A plastic sleeve 26 is provided on the remainder of the main body portion 12 by any suitable means such as blowing, shrinking or molding. The sleeve 26 may be properly textured so that the new drum stick will feel like a wooden stick when held by the drummer. Also, whenthe drum stick is used for rim-shot type playing, the plastic sleeve 26 will provide the proper sound characteristics as it strikes the metal rim of the drum and will also prevent the metal drum stick from becoming dented in use. The

' quick taper intermediate portion 14 and the reduced diameter stem portion 16 are not covered with a plastic coating since such a coating in this area would inhibit the desired degree of flexibility. Furthermore, by leavdrastic and quick change in diameter in the area of the intermediate portion 14, but substantially no change in the wall thickness of the metal. The length of the stem portion 16 may be varied to control the amount of flex in the stick and thereby vary the overall sound characteristics of the stick on drums and cymbals. Although the length of the stem portion 16 may be varied, the over all length of the drum stick remains constant so that the weight factor is not changed appreciably by varying the length of the stem portion.

By way of example, four experimental sticks were made according to the present invention of the same metal material, such as aluminum, with a constant wall thickness of .035 inches throughout and the same sleeve thickness of 1/32 inches.

Stern Stem Body Overall diameter Length Diameter Length 7/32 2 A V; 7/32 1 at u 15 A 7/32 1 A 15 V. 7/32 1 W A 15 Vs It will be noted from the above dimensions that the only critical change is the stem length and the weight factor is not changed appreciably in the four sticks. However, if the sound of the four sticks would be matched by wood sticks, it would require four different wood sticks having different overall dimensions in all areas, diameter of body, overall length and taper angle of the stem. By maintaining the diameter of the main body portion and the length of the stick constant in a plurality of sticks while varying the length of the stem, at

set of sticks are provided which will feel identical to the drummer as he uses the various sticks to play varied the purpose of achievin a specific sound characteristic especia ly when the stic is used for rlm-shot type playing. FIG. 4 shows the main body portion 12 of the tube 18 without the plastic sleeve.

in ordinary use the hollow metallic tube 18 in the area of the main body portion 12 is strong enough to resist denting even when the stick is used for rim-shot type playing. However, in certain numbers of the rock type the excessive force used in striking the rim of the drum can eventually have a deleterious effect on the metallic tube 18. To prevent this the tube 18 may be reinforced by a solid core 30 (FIG. 4) which is disposed only in the main body portion 12. The core 30 is preferably comprised of solid hard wood but conceivably could also be comprised of other types of wood, synthetic materials or combinations thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A drum stick comprising an elongated hollow onepiece tubular member having a main body portion, a tapered intermediate portion and a reduced diameter cylindrical stem portion, said tubular member having a substantially constant wall thickness throughout the entire length and enlarged tip means secured to the end of said reduced diameter stem portion and spaced from the plane of intersection between said tapered intermediate portion and said cylindrical stern portion.

2. A drum stick as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a plastic covering mounted on and coextensive with said main body portion.

3. A drum stick as set forth in claim 1 further comprising cap means secured to the end of said main body portion. I

4. A drum stick as set forth in claim -3 wherein said enlarged tip means and said cap means are of plastic material and are each provided with an opening 

1. A drum stick comprising an elongated hollow one-piece tubular member having a main body portion, a tapered intermediate portion and a reduced diameter cylindrical stem portion, said tubular member having a substantially constant wall thickness throughout the entire lengTh and enlarged tip means secured to the end of said reduced diameter stem portion and spaced from the plane of intersection between said tapered intermediate portion and said cylindrical stem portion.
 2. A drum stick as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a plastic covering mounted on and coextensive with said main body portion.
 3. A drum stick as set forth in claim 1 further comprising cap means secured to the end of said main body portion.
 4. A drum stick as set forth in claim 3 wherein said enlarged tip means and said cap means are of plastic material and are each provided with an opening therethrough communicating with the interior of the hollow drum stick.
 5. A drum stick as set forth in claim 1 wherein said hollow tubular member is made of metallic material.
 6. A drum stick as set forth in claim 5 further comprising core means disposed in said main body portion.
 7. A drum stick as set forth in claim 6 wherein said core means is composed of wood. 